About Me

Professional Background

In my first career, I was a chef/owner of a restaurant in San Francisco. It was here that I realized that besides a love of cooking (and eating) that I had a real passion for listening to and supporting people. This passion led me to my second career as a psychotherapist.

Subsequently, I received my Masters in Social Work from Catholic University, where I had the privilege of working with an amazing collection of professors, clinicians, and supervisors. During those years, I provided therapy for people with AIDS at NIH and for dually diagnosed people at a community mental health organization.

My graduate research focused on transpersonal perspectives on understanding human suffering. These experiences influenced my clinical work by making me more sensitive to the unique cultural and personal values that each client brings to the therapeutic process. I continue to put great importance on understanding, respecting, and working with the core values and beliefs of each client.

Following graduate school, I completed a two-year post-graduate program at the Washington School of Psychiatry focusing on adult Psychodynamic theory and interventions. My clinical work experience includes working as a therapist for adults, teenagers, and children at a therapeutic high school, an N-8 school, and a mental health group practice in downtown DC. Currently I own a private practice for adults and adolescents in the Woodley Park neighborhood.